‘A very valuable book, lively, instructive, original and full of interesting detail.’

Theodore Zeldin

‘A wonderful counterblast to the idea that we are becoming ever more lonely. Provocative and well-researched, Together offers a fascinating and very different way of seeing society today.’

Simon Jenkins

‘This book perceives a happy upsurge in small groups and associations, in contrast to the narrative of a “broken Britain” that requires the forcible erection of a “big society”. In likeable tones, with whimsical historical details and a range of philosophical and sociological references, Hemming tells numerous stories about the power of clubbing together, from the birth of the fans’ football club FC United to “the creation of a new druid order” (no one knew who they were, or what they were doing), book groups, beekeepers’ associations and the like. The author’s warm’n’fuzzy vision of a “good life” – where you could somehow be “misanthropic” or “rebellious” without being “stigmatised” by anyone else – seems curiously utopian, but he does convincingly tear apart some “loneliness” statistics, and goes cheeringly to town on wrong-headed “village-like” concepts of “community”.’

Steven Poole
The Guardian

‘Henry Hemming’s highly agreeable book […] Margaret Thatcher may have declared that there was no such thing as society, but even she would accept the existence of these small societies: the Essex Badger Protection Society, the Furness Family History Society, and other good folk who obey their hon sec’s firm request to turn up and applaud a visiting speaker on a cold winter’s evening. […] The cheering thesis of Together is that these bands of brothers and sisters make up “a nationwide phenomenon involving millions of Britons”. […] Britain, declares Hemming, has always been a world leader in get-togethers, ever since immigrant metalworkers forged a self-help group in Chichester after the Roman invasion in AD43. One of the earliest clubs to describe itself as such was Rota, a debating society situated above one of the many coffee houses in London in the late 17th century. […] Together is also a labour of love by an author enthralled by the societies and their members. Even if a voluntary organisation does not have a charitable aim – loud motorcycle clubs spring to mind, and indeed ear – it is beneficial to its members, who enjoy the sense of belonging as they give their time and labour for free: 57 per cent of us, according to one survey. We are not a Broken Society because this is the Araldite that repairs it.’

Jonathan Sale
The Independent

‘This is a provocative and timely book’.

Daily Mail

‘Together offers a well-researched alternative to the idea that Britain is becoming increasingly lonely. Henry Hemming is an inspirational writer who thinks communities are not dying but changing. […] Hemming delivers a light-hearted yet pointed account of how small groups can achieve big goals. A very interesting read. 8/10’

Liverpool Daily Post

‘Hemming smartly identifies the ideal of an English Village as a model that continues to be perpetuated through policy circles.’

Faisal Al Yafai
The National

‘A non-political manifesto for Big Society – one I would highly recommend.’

Lord Wei

‘Readable and thought-provoking. I recommend it.’

Roger Backhouse
Community

Together

How Small Groups Achieve Big Things

*

Together is about the extraordinary revival of small groups in Britain today.

What happens when a room full of people decide to work towards the same dream? Why is it that when we come together in small groups we are so much more than the sum of our parts?

From druids to bingo-clubbers, eco-warriors to flash-mobbers, historical re-enactors to bee-keepers, books groups and knitting circles, W.I.s, Young Farmers and the fan-owners of a football club, Together reveals the true story of modern Britain. The country we live in is in fact an extraordinary composition of small groups powered by shared interests and common ideals. Hemming reveals a different way of seeing society, one that recognizes the massive, untapped potential of these hundreds of thousands of small groups, how they work and what they enable us to do that we can’t do alone.

Witty and provocative, Together gives us an extraordinary cast of characters, a series of unlikely alliances and most importantly, a vision of what we can achieve Together.

The book draws on a wide range of material, from social, political and legal history through to sociobiological research, the latest in group psychology, sociology, membership figures obtained from national federations of clubs and societies, first-hand reportage, you name it. One very small part of the book – and this really is not one of the foundations on which my argument is built, as you’ll see – is the nationwide survey of small groups I ran between 2009-10. Click below for more.

‘A very valuable book, lively, instructive, original and full of interesting detail.’

Theodore Zeldin

‘A wonderful counterblast to the idea that we are becoming ever more lonely. Provocative and well-researched, Together offers a fascinating and very different way of seeing society today.’

Simon Jenkins

‘This book perceives a happy upsurge in small groups and associations, in contrast to the narrative of a “broken Britain” that requires the forcible erection of a “big society”. In likeable tones, with whimsical historical details and a range of philosophical and sociological references, Hemming tells numerous stories about the power of clubbing together, from the birth of the fans’ football club FC United to “the creation of a new druid order” (no one knew who they were, or what they were doing), book groups, beekeepers’ associations and the like. The author’s warm’n’fuzzy vision of a “good life” – where you could somehow be “misanthropic” or “rebellious” without being “stigmatised” by anyone else – seems curiously utopian, but he does convincingly tear apart some “loneliness” statistics, and goes cheeringly to town on wrong-headed “village-like” concepts of “community”.’

Steven Poole
The Guardian

‘Henry Hemming’s highly agreeable book […] Margaret Thatcher may have declared that there was no such thing as society, but even she would accept the existence of these small societies: the Essex Badger Protection Society, the Furness Family History Society, and other good folk who obey their hon sec’s firm request to turn up and applaud a visiting speaker on a cold winter’s evening. […] The cheering thesis of Together is that these bands of brothers and sisters make up “a nationwide phenomenon involving millions of Britons”. […] Britain, declares Hemming, has always been a world leader in get-togethers, ever since immigrant metalworkers forged a self-help group in Chichester after the Roman invasion in AD43. One of the earliest clubs to describe itself as such was Rota, a debating society situated above one of the many coffee houses in London in the late 17th century. […] Together is also a labour of love by an author enthralled by the societies and their members. Even if a voluntary organisation does not have a charitable aim – loud motorcycle clubs spring to mind, and indeed ear – it is beneficial to its members, who enjoy the sense of belonging as they give their time and labour for free: 57 per cent of us, according to one survey. We are not a Broken Society because this is the Araldite that repairs it.’

Jonathan Sale
The Independent

‘This is a provocative and timely book’.

Daily Mail

‘Together offers a well-researched alternative to the idea that Britain is becoming increasingly lonely. Henry Hemming is an inspirational writer who thinks communities are not dying but changing. […] Hemming delivers a light-hearted yet pointed account of how small groups can achieve big goals. A very interesting read. 8/10’

Liverpool Daily Post

‘Hemming smartly identifies the ideal of an English Village as a model that continues to be perpetuated through policy circles.’

Faisal Al Yafai
The National

‘A non-political manifesto for Big Society – one I would highly recommend.’

Lord Wei

‘Readable and thought-provoking. I recommend it.’

Roger Backhouse
Community

Together

How Small Groups Achieve Big Things

*

Together is about the extraordinary revival of small groups in Britain today.

What happens when a room full of people decide to work towards the same dream? Why is it that when we come together in small groups we are so much more than the sum of our parts?

From druids to bingo-clubbers, eco-warriors to flash-mobbers, historical re-enactors to bee-keepers, books groups and knitting circles, W.I.s, Young Farmers and the fan-owners of a football club, Together reveals the true story of modern Britain. The country we live in is in fact an extraordinary composition of small groups powered by shared interests and common ideals. Hemming reveals a different way of seeing society, one that recognizes the massive, untapped potential of these hundreds of thousands of small groups, how they work and what they enable us to do that we can’t do alone.

Witty and provocative, Together gives us an extraordinary cast of characters, a series of unlikely alliances and most importantly, a vision of what we can achieve Together.

The book draws on a wide range of material, from social, political and legal history through to sociobiological research, the latest in group psychology, sociology, membership figures obtained from national federations of clubs and societies, first-hand reportage, you name it. One very small part of the book – and this really is not one of the foundations on which my argument is built, as you’ll see – is the nationwide survey of small groups I ran between 2009-10. Click below for more.